Primary Sources - "materials on a topic upon which subsequent interpretations or studies are based"
- Poems
- Diaries
- Court records
- Research Results generated by experiments
Secondary Sources - analyze or restate primary sources. They often attempt to describe or explain primary sources. Some secondary sources not only analyze primary sources, but use them to argue a contention or to persuade the reader to hold a certain opinion.
- Dictionaries, encyclopedias
- Textbooks
- Books and articles that interpret, analyze, or review research.
- Newspaper and magazine articles
In the sciences, an experiment or study is primary source. An article that reviews and summarizes several studies or experiments conducted by other people is a secondary source.
